Season 9 Prep

There are a couple of things that make this season different than last. First off, I ain’t a freshie anymore, which means I hold myself to a higher standard and I assume everyone else on my team does as well. Second, I have all these “responsibilities” and “commitments” now that I’ve signed on to be our league’s Events Chair and Promotions Co-Chair.

I wrote a blog post recently about “Shit I Won’t be Scared To Do This Season,” and so far I’ve been holding myself to it. No, I didn’t magically bust out a hockey stop as soon as I wrote that post – said shit takes time to practice. But I’m getting better!

It’s a bit difficult to juggle off-track derby stuff with my day job, but that’s getting better as well. Sometimes I wanna cuss people out for not being respectful of my time (they don’t call my Bebe Aggro for nothin’) but, like every relationship, communication irons out all the wrinkles. I’m approaching Season 9 with my derby head (barely?) above water.

I finally got a replacement Derby Bible since I lost my last one at the skate park:

As soon as I got it, I wrote down a lengthy list of derby homework assignments:

Hockey stops are, of course, at the top of the list. 15 different things is a lot to work on, but there’s a method to the madness. The goal, you ask? Most of the goals above are to help me

BREAK FREE OF THE PACK!! BUST THROUGH THE PACK!! BEAT UP THE PACK (LEGALLY)!! JUKE! JUKE! JUKE!

That’s pretty much my Jammer Mantra. I think I’ve gotten better at jamming since last season (thank Gawd) and I think I’ll be doing more of that this season. I promised myself I wouldn’t freak out or get the-derby-anxiety about it and chicken out, cuz I don’t wanna look like a lil’ punk in front of my teammates/homies.

I have a little bit of a spiritual ritual when I jam (I’m so weird). First thing I do is get as low as I can, usually touching the ground. I don’t know why, but this forces me to look up and see little holes between people’s butts (does this make sense?) and not worry about who’s in the line-up – I just focus on what I’m about to do.

Then, I close my eyes for a split second and take a deep breath. I calm myself down and focus to the point where I don’t really hear anything except the whistle when it blows. Then I spring up and enter the jungle of women trying to either help me break free or kick my ass. It’s pretty fun.

I also use my Derby Bible to help manage all of my “responsibilities” and “commitments” – I remember nothing unless I write it down, so it’s a life-saver. Derby has now become a part-time job for me, out of nowhere, and I had no clue what I was signing myself up for when I agreed to take on leadership roles off the track.